To Parvati on Respecting Actions

[Guest guest]

Parvati posted:

Shree Maa often says, "Respect your actions."What does this mean to

you? What do you think she means by this?

Dear Parvati,

 

This is a really important, and to me, a bit scary, statement. To me,

first it means I need to be aware of my actions right now. So I have

to be conscious about what I am doing ... chopping wood, carrying

water ... And when I consider that, I realize how often I am acting

without awareness, without consideration, and hence, without respect.

 

 

I believe that first I would make a sankalpa to be aware of my actions

without judgement. That is one kind of respect.

 

Then in my greater awareness of my actions, I must also become aware

of why I am acting. Where are my actions coming from?; are they truly

actions or are they reactions? This is another kind of respect.

 

Then if I am willing to truly respect myself (a really big one, since

many of us, and I am one of the biggest), it means I believe I am

deserving of respect.

 

If I am deserving of respect, then I will naturally behave

respectfully toward others as well as behaving respectfully in

something I am doing (respectful to the process and to myself). This

is another way of respecting my actions.

 

So in a way Shree Maa by making this statement has set up a chain

where one looks from the present, how I am acting now, into the past

to see the reasons for my action, my beliefs about myself, etc. But

then the chain is actually a circle because looking back at what is

behind my actions, I then want to be more aware of what I am doing

and why and behave respectfully at every opportunity in each present

moment.

 

This makes my head hurt just thinking about it, so I feel it is very

important. Thank you for bringing it up and asking our thoughts. Jai

Maa ~ Linda